Russo



Feb. 21, 1956 R sso 2,735,436

DENTAL-FLOSS HOLDER Filed March 21, 1955 Z/ZJ IN V EN TOR.

DENTAL-FLOSS HOLDER Louis Russo, Fitchburg, Mass.

Application March 21, 1955, Serial No. 495,462

1 Claim. (Cl. 13291) This invention relates to a new and improved dentalfloss holder, and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of an extremely handy easyto-use device of the class described which is eflicient in operation and in which is provided means for quickly and easily securing the ends of the dental-floss and holding the same in taut operative condition between a pair of spaced arms, said dental-floss holding means comprising an integral button or the like which is located adjacent said spaced arms and is provided with a slanting surface about which the ends of the dental-floss may be quickly wrapped and wedgingly and frictionally secured so as to hold even short pieces of dental-floss in fully operative condition and in a taut manner between said arms for easy use in the customary manner to clean the teeth.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a dental-floss holder as above described which is injection molded of commercial plastic and is therefore sanitary and easy to clean and which embodies a pair of spaced arms having V-shaped aligned notches at the ends thereof, for locating and guiding the dental-floss, said notches terminating inwardly in narrow slots holding the dental-floss in position for use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the new dental-floss holder showing the dental-floss secured about the holder therefor;

Fig. 2 is an edge view, looking in the direction of arrow 2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation on an enlarged scale and looking in the direction of arrow 3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the tips of the dental-floss holding arms and looking in the direction of arrow 4 in Fig. 1, parts being broken away; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 4.

The new and improved dental-floss holder illustrated herein is preferably injection-molded all in one piece, and comprises in general an elongated handle having a hanger hole 12 at one end thereof and widening out at the other end as at 14 terminating in a pair of spaced arms 16 and 18.

The arms 16, 18 are fairly widely spaced and are adapted to hold the dental-floss 20 in the position shown in Fig. 1 for use of the device to clean the teeth when the handle 10 is used in the customary manner to hold the device with relation to the mouth.

The main body of the new dental-floss holder is relatively thin as clearly seen in Fig. 2 and it is provided with suflicient width relative to its thickness so that it may be conveniently grasped. One or both surfaces may be provided with indentations 22 which are similar to knurling and provide for non-skid surfaces for the thumb of the hand of the user, the handle to the left of the knurling in Fig. 1 being grasped by the remainder of the hand 'nited States Patent 0 with the thumb in position on the knurling 22. It will be seen that this provides an easy-to-use, practical dentalfloss holder for complete cleaning of the teeth, without the necessity of placing the fingers in the mouth.

Adjacent the arms 16, 18, there is an integrally molded button 24 of suitable diameter and having a conical slanting surface 26 below the same, next to the surface of the main body of the device. This slanting surface is a surface of revolution and serves to anchor the ends of even short pieces of cord or floss thereby.

The ends of the arms 16 and 18 are provided with V-shaped notches 28 which are aligned to easily receive the thread or floss and guide the same to the deep notches 30 Which hold the thread during use.

Even a short length of floss or the like is easily and securely held by winding an end 32 about the neck of the button 24, thus frictionally holding the same in the wedge formed by the slanting button bottom 26. The floss is then passed into the U-shaped guides 23 and lodged in the notches 30, whereupon the other, free end of the thread is Wound on the neck of the button as at 34, over the end 32. This holds the floss taut between the arms 16, 18, ready for use.

After use, the thread or floss is easily unwound at the ends and disposed of, without the necessity of touching the same in the used area between the arms, and the whole device is quickly and easily washed, as it is all in one fixed, solid piece.

Preferably, a 30 groove or notch 36 may be provided in either or both arms 18 to guide the floss to the grooves 28 and 30. This makes the application of the floss much easier and quicker, and it is clear that as the floss is changed very frequently, it is greatly advantageous to be able to guide the floss in this way.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

A dental-floss holder comprising a one-piece handle, spaced floss-holding arms thereon co-planar therewith, and floss-end securing means, said means including a fixed button on the handle adjacent the arms, said button having an undersurface closely adjacent a surface of the handle, said undersurface being slanted at an angle making a V-shape with respect to the handle surface for frictionally holding thread ends wound therein, said handle surface adjacent the button being provided with a series of small transverse, spaced, friction grooves, said arms extending from the proximity of the button in spaced relation and terminating in aligned V-shaped thread-guiding notches extending inwardly from the ends of the arms, said V-shaped notches terminating at their smaller, inner ends in aligned parallel-sided, thread-holding notches, and a thread holding and guiding groove extending from the inner end of one of the said threadholding notches along a side edge of one of the arms slantingly to the said handle surface adjacent the button.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 553,610 Falkenstein Jan. 28, 1896 867,264 Evans Oct. 1, 1907 1,166,732 Woodhouse Jan. 4, 1916 1,257,864 Hochstadter Feb. 26, 1918 1,667,134 Sherwood Apr. 24, 1928 1,990,404 Doner Feb. 5, 1935 2,113,439 Bean Apr. 5, 1938 2,607,358 Maas Aug. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 522,909 Germany Apr. 16, 1931 

